Boat purchase & dry rack storage

NHskier · 08-09-2006, 08:34 PM

Hi all,

I'm considering buying a first boat next season. I'm in the early stages of learning about boats and boating in general and have a couple of questions. I've been reading through a number of forums and picking up some great information so far. Since this will be our first boat we'll likely go used to be sure we really like boating, avoid the big depreciation hit in case we want something else, etc. And having very little experience I'll be buying through a dealer to get a bit of warranty and degree of assurance.

We live near Concord, NH, less than an hour from the Weirs beach area. I do not want to trailer (no tow vehicle nor do I want one). I don't want to have to worry about a boat tied up at a slip during bad weather, etc. So dry rack valet service storage looks appealing.

Now for the questions ...

How difficult is it to get a spot at one of the area marinas offering dry rack valet service (Channel, Meredith, etc.)?

Is it feasible to buy a used boat through a marina that offers the service, and tie the purchase to a guaranteed rack slot? (I absolutely want to avoid having a boat with no place for it.)

I know marinas have limits on boat length when racking - what's the normal limit? And what's the shortest length I should be consider for Winni?

Any recommendations (+ or -) on Winni marinas offering valet service? (I'm partial to the southern side of the lake as that's a shorter drive.

Any other advice for an aspiring Winni boater?

Thanks very much!
NHskier

NightWing · 08-09-2006, 08:43 PM

Many of the marinas that sell boats also offer rack storage. Channel and Fay's both have racks. Silver Sands has lot storage, I am not sure about racks. Irwin Marine has racks on the other side of the tracks. There are probably many more and others will respond to this thread.

jrc · 08-09-2006, 09:51 PM

If you buy from a dealer, make a rack part of the deal. Many dealers have racks. Channel, Paugus Bay, West Alton Marina, Fay's, Glendale and Mountain View all have rack storage. If by south you mean Alton Bay, I don't know of any down there. Check the links on this site under Lake Links, Boating.

ossipeeboater · 08-10-2006, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHskier

Hi all,

How difficult is it to get a spot at one of the area marinas offering dry rack valet service (Channel, Meredith, etc.)?

Is it feasible to buy a used boat through a marina that offers the service, and tie the purchase to a guaranteed rack slot? (I absolutely want to avoid having a boat with no place for it.)

I know marinas have limits on boat length when racking - what's the normal limit? And what's the shortest length I should be consider for Winni?

Any recommendations (+ or -) on Winni marinas offering valet service? (I'm partial to the southern side of the lake as that's a shorter drive.

Any other advice for an aspiring Winni boater?

Thanks very much!
NHskier

south of the weirs is your best bet from Concord, Mountainview, silver sans etc are easy becaause you can use the backroads to avoid Rt3 to laconia which is real busy.

I'd go 24-26 feet on the boat . If you buy from Irwin they manage mountainview so you'd be better of there than in Paugus if your cutting a deal for a rack.

Aquadeziac · 08-10-2006, 03:18 PM

We racked at Mountainview for 6 yrs before we got our live-aboard. They were always excellent. Their price was with unlimited launchings. (One point to be sure and check on) Some places set a certain number of launchings a week and will charge you ($50+ someplaces) extra per launch. Mountainview was great because we might like to go out after work (we also live in Concord) and as long as we called them by 5:00 they put the boat in before they closed and we were able to go out for an evening ride and just tie it up when we got back and they would return it to the rack the next morning. They are one of the closest to Concord (29 miles to my driveway). They had told me they were able to rack up to a 29' boat provided it was a single drive. Twins were limited to about 26'. They also have a full service dept so if you have something go wrong it will be fixed by the next time you come up.

ThePlut · 08-10-2006, 08:54 PM

I had a Valet at Meredith Marina last year. Not racked, stored on a trailer if you have it or on bunks. Can do indoor or outdoor. Very convenient. They won't take boats over 23' these days. There wasn't a waiting list or anything in 2005.

Personally, I immensely prefer the wet slip I have this year.

NHskier · 08-10-2006, 09:03 PM

Thanks for the comments folks - every little bit helps.

Ideally I'd like to take a 'single-source' approach - buying from the same place where I'll have the boat serviced and dry racked - so I can ensure I have storage space and hopefully be well treated.

I hadn't come across anything about Mountainview yet on the web, so will check into that.

I was also wondering whether rack slots were so tough to get that most places would not be willing to tie a boat purchase & rack together, or that they'd only do it for new boat purchases.

NHskier

NHskier · 08-10-2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePlut

I had a Valet at Meredith Marina last year. Not racked, stored on a trailer if you have it or on bunks. Can do indoor or outdoor. Very convenient. They won't take boats over 23' these days. There wasn't a waiting list or anything in 2005.

Personally, I immensely prefer the wet slip I have this year.

Not sure I understand. If stored on your trailer do you use your own vehicle to launch it? If on bunks, does the boatyard still do the forklift routine and put it in the water for you on request?

If so then I should revise my terms a bit and not necessarily talk about rack storage as it seems indoor storage would provide the same benefit as in a rack.

thanks!
NHskier

NightWing · 08-10-2006, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHskier

Not sure I understand. If stored on your trailer do you use your own vehicle to launch it? If on bunks, does the boatyard still do the forklift routine and put it in the water for you on request?

If so then I should revise my terms a bit and not necessarily talk about rack storage as it seems indoor storage would provide the same benefit as in a rack.

thanks!
NHskier

Indoor storage is in racks.

jrc · 08-11-2006, 07:20 AM

My gut feel is that racks are pretty easy to get. This year even slips seemed easy. There are still empties in the classifieds.

The website for Mountain View is www.mvyc.biz They don't mention racks but they do have them. Give them a call or email.

ThePlut · 08-11-2006, 07:36 AM

At Meredith, the boat is stored on a trailer, and they use a tractor to launch/retrieve it for you. You don't need to use your own vehicle. If they leave it on bunks, Meredith had a forklift they used. At the time, I was advised that they had 2 tractors and 1 forklift, so the trailer storage solution had redundancy.

Indoor storage in Meredith was still not on racks, at least, I don't recall seeing any racks at their facility. I believe it was just inside on the trailer.

When I was trying to get a slip/storage, virtually all marinas said that they keep some slips/valet/racks open for their own boat buying customers, and if they had leftovers, they might rent for a season.

ossipeeboater · 08-11-2006, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NHskier

Thanks for the comments folks - every little bit helps.

Ideally I'd like to take a 'single-source' approach - buying from the same place where I'll have the boat serviced and dry racked - so I can ensure I have storage space and hopefully be well treated.

I hadn't come across anything about Mountainview yet on the web, so will check into that.

I was also wondering whether rack slots were so tough to get that most places would not be willing to tie a boat purchase & rack together, or that they'd only do it for new boat purchases.

NHskier

just go to Irwin marines website, they manage MV and can get you a spot there. they also have a lot of used boats

Silver Sands I believe also racks and they have a lot of used boats. they always have some decent used Rinkers and Regals in the 23-26 foot range.

NHskier · 08-11-2006, 08:33 PM

I'm glad to hear that rack space is not too hard to come by and that I should be able to work out a sale/rack slot deal without much difficulty. Looks like I've got a few things to think about and some legwork to do for next season.

Not to mention deciding on specifics of which boat to buy. 8^)

NHskier

08-09-2006, 08:34 PM	#1
NHskier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 284 Thanks: 40 Thanked 33 Times in 30 Posts	Boat purchase & dry rack storage Hi all, I'm considering buying a first boat next season. I'm in the early stages of learning about boats and boating in general and have a couple of questions. I've been reading through a number of forums and picking up some great information so far. Since this will be our first boat we'll likely go used to be sure we really like boating, avoid the big depreciation hit in case we want something else, etc. And having very little experience I'll be buying through a dealer to get a bit of warranty and degree of assurance. We live near Concord, NH, less than an hour from the Weirs beach area. I do not want to trailer (no tow vehicle nor do I want one). I don't want to have to worry about a boat tied up at a slip during bad weather, etc. So dry rack valet service storage looks appealing. Now for the questions ... How difficult is it to get a spot at one of the area marinas offering dry rack valet service (Channel, Meredith, etc.)? Is it feasible to buy a used boat through a marina that offers the service, and tie the purchase to a guaranteed rack slot? (I absolutely want to avoid having a boat with no place for it.) I know marinas have limits on boat length when racking - what's the normal limit? And what's the shortest length I should be consider for Winni? Any recommendations (+ or -) on Winni marinas offering valet service? (I'm partial to the southern side of the lake as that's a shorter drive. Any other advice for an aspiring Winni boater? Thanks very much! NHskier

08-10-2006, 03:18 PM	#5
Aquadeziac Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Concord NH Posts: 239 Thanks: 19 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	We racked at Mountainview for 6 yrs before we got our live-aboard. They were always excellent. Their price was with unlimited launchings. (One point to be sure and check on) Some places set a certain number of launchings a week and will charge you ($50+ someplaces) extra per launch. Mountainview was great because we might like to go out after work (we also live in Concord) and as long as we called them by 5:00 they put the boat in before they closed and we were able to go out for an evening ride and just tie it up when we got back and they would return it to the rack the next morning. They are one of the closest to Concord (29 miles to my driveway). They had told me they were able to rack up to a 29' boat provided it was a single drive. Twins were limited to about 26'. They also have a full service dept so if you have something go wrong it will be fixed by the next time you come up. __________________ "He who dies with the most toys wins"

08-10-2006, 08:54 PM	#6
ThePlut Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 150 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts	Meredith I had a Valet at Meredith Marina last year. Not racked, stored on a trailer if you have it or on bunks. Can do indoor or outdoor. Very convenient. They won't take boats over 23' these days. There wasn't a waiting list or anything in 2005. Personally, I immensely prefer the wet slip I have this year.

08-10-2006, 09:03 PM	#7
NHskier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 284 Thanks: 40 Thanked 33 Times in 30 Posts	Thanks! Thanks for the comments folks - every little bit helps. Ideally I'd like to take a 'single-source' approach - buying from the same place where I'll have the boat serviced and dry racked - so I can ensure I have storage space and hopefully be well treated. I hadn't come across anything about Mountainview yet on the web, so will check into that. I was also wondering whether rack slots were so tough to get that most places would not be willing to tie a boat purchase & rack together, or that they'd only do it for new boat purchases. NHskier

08-11-2006, 07:36 AM	#11
ThePlut Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 150 Thanks: 1 Thanked 13 Times in 11 Posts	Storage At Meredith, the boat is stored on a trailer, and they use a tractor to launch/retrieve it for you. You don't need to use your own vehicle. If they leave it on bunks, Meredith had a forklift they used. At the time, I was advised that they had 2 tractors and 1 forklift, so the trailer storage solution had redundancy. Indoor storage in Meredith was still not on racks, at least, I don't recall seeing any racks at their facility. I believe it was just inside on the trailer. When I was trying to get a slip/storage, virtually all marinas said that they keep some slips/valet/racks open for their own boat buying customers, and if they had leftovers, they might rent for a season.

08-09-2006, 08:43 PM	#2
NightWing Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 410 Thanks: 4 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Many of the marinas that sell boats also offer rack storage. Channel and Fay's both have racks. Silver Sands has lot storage, I am not sure about racks. Irwin Marine has racks on the other side of the tracks. There are probably many more and others will respond to this thread.

08-09-2006, 09:51 PM	#3
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	If you buy from a dealer, make a rack part of the deal. Many dealers have racks. Channel, Paugus Bay, West Alton Marina, Fay's, Glendale and Mountain View all have rack storage. If by south you mean Alton Bay, I don't know of any down there. Check the links on this site under Lake Links, Boating.

08-11-2006, 07:20 AM	#10
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	My gut feel is that racks are pretty easy to get. This year even slips seemed easy. There are still empties in the classifieds. The website for Mountain View is www.mvyc.biz They don't mention racks but they do have them. Give them a call or email.

08-11-2006, 08:33 PM	#13
NHskier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 284 Thanks: 40 Thanked 33 Times in 30 Posts	Thanks folks! I'm glad to hear that rack space is not too hard to come by and that I should be able to work out a sale/rack slot deal without much difficulty. Looks like I've got a few things to think about and some legwork to do for next season. Not to mention deciding on specifics of which boat to buy. 8^) NHskier